Electric boudoir lamp



' Jan. 10, 1928.

C. WACHTEL ELECTRIC BOUDOIR LAMP Filed Jan. 16, 1925 INVENTOR Charles Wach tel.

ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 10, 1928.

, support, or lifted therefrom.

.resting on a support and the battery re- UNITED STATES PAT'E'l" FFIC'E.

CHARLES WAGI-ITEL, OF NE'WHYDE PARK, NEW YORK.

ELECTRIC BOUDOIB LAMP.

Application filed January 16, 1925. Serial No. 2,301.

standard. wardly from the fixed contact 6, through the standard and into the hollow base. The base and thestandard are formed of metal, and are electrically connected through the socket 3 with the other lamp terminal. The standard and base thus form part of the lamp circuit.

A flat electric battery .8 is located within the hollow base of the lamp and held in place by aretaining plate .9 which closes the under side of the base. The plate 9 is removably held in place by means of a pair of diametrically located studs 10 carried by brackets 11 which are secured within the base. The studs 10 are formed with heads and with reduced portions or necks adapted to engage in the reduced ends of key slots 12 formed in the retaining plate.

.A block of insulation 13 is secured within the base at one side of the battery and against the inner side wall of the base. The block 13 is formed with a fiat face directed toward the battery, and fixed to said face are two terminal plates 14 and 15 respectively. These plates are arranged flush with each other upon the face of the block 13 and their opposed end edges are spaced apart and diagonally formed to provide a downwardly tapering V-shaped gap between the plates. The plate 15 is formed with an arcuate extension 16 which overlies an insulating strip 17 upon the inner side of the base. This extension is inturned at its outer end and is adapted to be engaged by a resilient terminal strip 18 extending from the battery. The other terminal strip 19 of the battery makes contact with the inner side of the base. The circuit wire 7 is connected at its lower end to the terminal plate 14 as at 20. A lamp and battery circuit is thus formed including the wire 7 and the standard and base of the lamp. This circuit is, however, broken by the gap between the terminal plates 14. and 15.

A circuit closing plunger 21 is mounted for vertical reciprocation within a guide bore 22 in the insulation block 13 and extends downwardly through an opening in the plate 9. This plunger is formed with a lateral extension 23 which extends One of the principal objects of this invention is to provide a small ornamental and readily portable self contained electric lamp adapted for household use.

Another important object .of the invention .is tojprovide a small portable self contained electric lamp with'means whereby the lamp circuit will beinterrupted when the lamp is placed ion a table or other support, and will be complete or closed when the lamp is lifted and carried about in the hand.

Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby the lamp circuit may be permanently closed so that it Willnot be .aifected'by placing the lamp on a table or The lamp is illustrated in the drawings .in the form of a candle stick, but of course it will be understood that it may be made up in any suitable form.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical central sectional view on'the line 1 1 of Fig. 2 showing the lamp resting on a support and the lamp circuit interrupted Fig. 2 a bottom plan view of the lamp with the bottom plate broken away, the auxiliary circuit closer being adjusted to open position;

Fig. 3 a fragmentary view similar to Fig.2 with the auxiliary circuit closer in closed osition;

Fig. 4 a detail perspective view of the circuit closing means;

Fig. 5 a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2 with the lamp moved,- and Fig. 6 a view similar to Fig. 5 showing the lamp lifted from the support.

The lamp is illustrated in the drawings in'the form of a candle stick having a circular hollow base 1 open at its bottom and supporting a vertical hollow standard 2 of slender ornamental form. The interior of the standard is in communication with the interior of the base and serves as a passage for-a circuit wire. At the upper end of the post is mounted an internally threaded lamp socket 3 designed to receive the threaded end of a lamp bulb 4. The central terminal 5 of the bulb engages a fixed contact 6, mounted at the bottom of the socket and insulated from. bath the socket the through a slot in the block and into the gap between the terminal plates 1' and 15. The extension 23 tapers donrdly in the A circuit wire 7 leads downform of a wedge corresponding to the slant of the opposed ends of the terminal plates, and when the plunger is in its :lower position the extension 23 is adapted to bridge the gap between the terminal plates and make a close electrical contact with both plates. The extension 23 is of conducting material and the battery and lamp circuitis thereby closed and the lamp bulb illuminated. A coiled spring is interposed be tween the upper end of the plunger 21 and the upper-end of the bore 22 and tends to press the plunger down'to circuit closing position.

-' lower end, of the-plun er extencs below the lnits circuit closing position the bottom of the lamp base as shown in Fig.

'6; When the lamp is placed upon a supvided.

port the plunger is forced upwardly against the resistance of the spring 2% by the weight f of the lamp. The extension 23 is then carried up into thewide portion of'the gap between the terminal platesto break its con tact with the plates. The circuit is thus automatically broken and thellight extinguished. By merely liftin the lamp from the support the circuit will again be auto-.

matically closed and the bulb illuminated, by the spring 24 forcin downthe plunger.

In order to provide for illumination when the lamp is resting upon a support, auxiliary circuit closing means-Kare pro- I Extending across the gapbetween the terminal plates 14: and is a circuit closer inthe form of a leaf spring 25 of conducting material. The spring 25 is secured at one end as at 26 to the terminal plate 14:. The opposite end of the spring is free and the resilience of the spring tends to press said free end against the terminal plate lo to'automatically connect said plate with theplate l4 and closethe circuit. I A lever 27 is pivoted as at 28 in an opening ex tending through the block 13 and is proyided at its inner end with an insulation tip 29 "adapted to engage the free end of the leaf spring 25. ;The outer endr of the lever 27 extends outwardly through a slot in the side of the base and is formed with an operating knob. The spring 25 is bowed at the center to provide clearance for the plunger extension 23 and is formed at its free end with acontact hump 30 extending toward the terminal plate 15 W' hen manually shifted to the position shown in Fig. 2 the lever 27, through the engagement of its insulation tip with the contact hump of the spring, forces the spring away from the contact plate 15 and opens the circuit. vThis is the normal position of the lever and in order to reach this position the tip snaps over the peak of the contact hump. The spring then holds the lever yieldingly in this position. ,When the lever is manually shifted to theposition shown in Fig. 3 the tip snaps to the opposite side of. thecona unit which may} be readily inserted and secured in place and may be easily removed afterwithdrawing the screw 31. The 'bottom plate 9 is readily removable by slightly rotating it in order to'free it from'the retaining studs-10. Studs 32 are provided on the plate to facilitate turning t. When the plate is removed, the battery is o'nlyfrictionally held and may be easily'wit-hdrawn" from the base.

What I claim is: 4 l. A. circuit closing device comprisingfa plunger; means supporting said plunger to reciprocate vertically; spaced-terminal'members adapted to be connectedby'the plunger in its lower position to close the circuit-ya spring tending to move the plunger down-to its lower position the plunger being formed .witlia projecting lower end adapted to-be engaged to press the plunger out of-contact with said terminal members against the spring resistance an allXlllil'ly'ClICUll'iQlOSGl in the form of a leaf spring tending by its resilience to connectsaid terminal members "and close the circuit independently" of the plunger; and manually shiftable means adapted when shifted to one-posit on to move and hold the leaf spring 111 a circuit opening position and when shifted to an other position to permit said spring to-move to a circuit closing position;

2. A circuit closing device comprising a block of insulating material; a pair ofterniinal plates mounted upon said block and" spaced apart to form a gap; a plunger mounted in said block to reciprocate vertically and provided with an extension adapted in the lower position of the plunger to bridge said gap between the terminal plates;

a spring to move the plunger down to close the circuihthe plunger being formed with a proyecting portion adapted tobe engaged to move the plunger out of contact with the terminal'plates to break the circuit; an aux-'- iliary circuit closer in the form of a leaf spring fixed at one'end to onset theter ninal plates, extending across said gap and tending by'its resilience to force its opposite end against the other terminal plate to close the circuit; and a lever pivoted to-the said block to engage the leaf spring and adapted to be shifted to one positionto move and hold the free end of the leaf spring out of circuit closing position and to be shifted to another position to permit the leaf spring to move to its-circuit closing position.

3. A circuit closing device comprising a block of insulating material; a pair of terminal plates mounted upon said block and spaced apart to form a V-shaped gap opening upwardly; a plunger mounted in the block to reciprocate vertically; an extension formed on the plunger to bridge said gap between the terminal plates to close the circuit when the plunger is in its lower position; and means mounted on said insulation block and manually operable to close the circuit independently of the plunger.

4. A circuit closing device comprising a pair of spaced terminal members; shiftably mounted circuit closing means to connect said terminal members and close the circuit, said circuit closing means being shiftable to a position to open the circuit and tending to automatically return to circuit closing position; and manually operable means to connect said terminal members and close the circuit independently of the first circuit cl0s ing means.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature.

CHARLES WACHTEL. 

